Race and Inequality

Race and Death Sentencing for Oklahoma Homicides Committed between 1990 and 2012

Professor of Sociology, University of Oklahoma

Key Findings

Regardless of the race of the defendant, the data show that the odds of receiving a death sentence for defendants whose victims are white females is 9.59 times higher than in cases with minority male victims.

The odds of receiving a death sentence for defendants whose victims are white males is 3.22 times higher than the odds of a death sentence with minority male victims.

The odds of a death sentence for defendants whose victims are minority females is 8.68 times higher than the odds of a death sentence with minority male victims.

Description

In the article, “Race and Death Sentencing for Oklahoma Homicides Committed Between 1990 and 2012,” Sharp and her co-authors sought to determine the extent to which race – both of the victim and the defendant – was a factor in death sentencing. The study examined 153 cases of homicide that occurred in Oklahoma over a twenty-three- year period (between January 1, 1990 and December 31, 2012) in which the defendant received a death sentence. The authors found that the defendant’s race did not correlate with a death sentence. However, there was a strong correlation with race of the victim, such that cases with white victims were significantly more likely to end with a death sentence than cases with nonwhite victims. Homicides with female victims were also more likely to result in a death sentence than other cases. Lastly, having one or more additional legally relevant factors present in the case (such as a homicide event with more than one victim, or one in which there were additional felony circumstances) was found to be a significant predictor of a defendant receiving a death sentence.